One advice though, as you race to jannah, please don’t become a zalamina (an unjust tyrant). P.Feauxzar

Excerpt : “Then, the most gorgeous woman will arrive, the likes of which you’ll have never seen, and you’ll forget all those 72 hooris and turn to her. She’ll be your earthly wide, surpassing the beauty of a million hooris, returning to your arms.”

After reading the most stunning piece of what sounded as an unimaginable place I knew I had to share this with my friends and even the entire world that’s presently here in dunya-alive in a place we compete for, kill for, use methods of evil to attain, brainwashed by temporary pleasures that sometimes last not a day. Imagine you have this cool cellphone and a week later another hits the market and you become bored with what you have. Well in jannah you don’t get bored. You chill, enjoy and pleasures never end…

I grabbed my kufi and rushed out. I was on my way to Asad, Muhammad and Haitham. My friends since forever. Alhamdulillah, we had a great connection going for us but we were always doing things we knew sparked the displeasure of our parents and most of all, Allah. Living in an insane world sometime, we have depressive thoughts which lead us to do what we shouldn’t be doing. For a while, we seemed to be heading to danger. We were on top of the cliff (we were in so much sin). Trying out anything we totally should have avoided.

Before I read the piece, I’d missed salatul fajr and when I awoke I prayed. Then, I checked my phone and read the messages. A random stranger on an advice group posted something he got from a scholar that shook my insides. That was it I was hooked. I skidded almost colliding into Haitham’s arms. They all looked at me as if I was insane. Yeah, I was insane if that’s what you call the feeling that overtook me. But you know what, I thank Allah for it. I started reading.

Our All-Compassionate Lord fashioned three things with His own Hand, not through a process of cause and effect, like everything else. These are his eternal masterpieces which mankind will never cease to admire. They are Prophet Adam, Paradise, and the Torah (Old Testament).

Paradise is a place beyond thought or imagination. Brief descriptions of it have reached us via the Qur’an and the Sunnah. But just like listening to the commentary of soccer giants, Manchester and Liverpool over the radio, you cannot capture the spirit of the game. Likewise, experiencing the delights of paradise cannot be felt without being physically there.

My aim for writing this piece is to get the mouth of all my readers watering for this reality to come, and to realize an effort towards paradise is a worthwhile effort beyond any other effort. So, put on your 3D goggles and enjoy. Just absorb every word and allow the images to unfold before your eyes. Here it goes…

***You have just passed over the bridge over hell, a 1500 year journey which has drained you mentally and physically, and you have joined the excited crowd of people queuing to enter paradise. Impatiently, you wait your turn. There are eight doors of paradise, each as wide as a 40-year journey and names as follows: “Salat (prayers), Jihad (Striving in God’s way), Sadaqah (Charity), Rayyan (Fasting), Hajj (Pilgrimage), Kazimin al-Ghaiz wal Aafeen (Those who drank their anger and forgave), Al-Ayman(Those of the right hand who will be saved from reckoning due to their reliance, and Dhikr (Remembrance of their Lord).” Upon which door do you think your name will be inscribed?

As you envy Sayyadina Abu Bakr for being called by all eight doors of paradise, your name is finally called from one door. You present yourself, like a small child waiting for candy floss from his teacher, and meet Ridwan, the most handsome and adorable angel, tasked with admitting people into paradise. With a huge smile, he gives you the following certificate, “Peace be upon you and congratulation. Enter herein forever and ever.”

In dunya, even the best paid jobs and the best mansion come with a time limit. But in jannah, we have been assured of entering a place of eternal bliss, with no time limit, no feelings of insecurity and anxiety, and no fear of ever being expelled.

As you enter, guided by another angel, you’re given your first meal being shown your place. This is a meal of fish liver and bread (Yum, delicacies…). The food and drink of paradise only resemble the food and drink of dunya in name, but in shape, form, and taste, they’re different. Each bite from the dates, olives, grapes, figs, bananas and pomegranates of paradise will taste differently, and from each a different aroma will be emitted. A bunch of grapes will be equal to 12 arms, having a thorn less stem of pure gold and silver. These fruits, as well as all foods, will be available at any time. Their availability will not depend on seasons or production. There will also be no pits or peels to disturb you, and no garbage cans around. In fact, there is no hunger in paradise and you will never worry about punishing yourself by dieting or weight loss again! Rather, people will eat out of enjoyment, and every meal will last up to 40 years!

The food of paradise doesn’t have to be prepared or cooked, so our wives will not spend half of their lives in the kitchen! The food doesn’t rot, nor does it cause food-poisoning, and nor is it transformed into waste in our bodies. Rather, the food will be expelled by fragrant burps, and the drinks by means of sweet perspiration.

As you enjoy your first meal, you somehow notice that your hands are different. You then realize that you have been given a flawless body, with no disabilities or sickness. You won’t be visiting Dr. George anytime soon who gave his patient six months to live. After six months, his patient didn’t pay him, so he gave him another six month!

You’ll also find yourself to be as tall as Prophet Adam at 90 feet, as handsome as Prophet Yusuf-but with no facial or body hair except a fine crop of hair on your head, having a melodious voice as Prophet Dawud, the same age of Prophet Issa at 33, and the noble character of the Best Creation, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

After a brief inquiry, you learn that paradise has 100 stages, the lowest of which is jannat-ul Mawa, the middle of which is jannat-ul Adan (Eden), and the highest jannat-ul Firdauws. Every stage can accommodate the entire mankind, and the distance between each stage is the distance between the earth and the sky. The garden of lowest ranking inmate will be ten times the size of this world. Having satisfied yourself with your initial meal, you’re now taken on a pearly coated winged horse to your final abode. You won’t worry of visas, passports, long queues, and the exorbitant prices of tickets anymore. You’ll then notice flashes of gentle lightning in the clear sky and will ask in wonder, “What are those lights?

Although this will be your first trip to paradise, the road will seem familiar to you. As you travel, wondering which garden is yours, you’ll notice that the sand isn’t made up of dirt. It’s pure saffron. The gravel is made of pearls and rugbies, and the buildings are made of transparent gold and silver. Even the richest man on earth couldn’t purchase a single brick of paradise with all his dunya money!

Now, those who think that paradise is an Alice in Wonderland fairy tale haven’t even felt half the percentage of the Grace of the Almighty. If you deny His presence, then the only place for you in the hereafter is Hellfire.

As you start developing an emotional connection to the ultimate source of true pleasure, you pass mountains made of pure musk. You notice rivers of pure milk whose source isn’t a dairy cow, rivers of pure honey whose source isn’t a bee, rivers of unintoxicating wine who source isn’t fruit, and rivers of sparkling water. All these emanate directly from beneath the throne of the Almighty, Most Magnanimous. You may request a stop and drink from these refreshing springs, but you’ll be told, “Have patience, for you also own a few of these.”

When you finally reach your garden, you’ll see a most charming woman-a woman whose essence is saffron-washing a pure stream. She’ll have 70 sets of clothing upon her, but all will be delicate and weightless to the degree of transparency. She’ll be so beautiful that you’ll see the blood throbbing through her veins right through her ivory-like complexion further, you’ll see within her heart, and witness the waves of love throbbing in it for you. They will never lose their virginity, will never experience monthlies, nor lose their timeless beauty. As you stand there stunned, she will be joined by many more-a minimum of 72. Each one of them will have a separate grand pavilions alongside your rivers.

Then, the most gorgeous woman will arrive, the likes of which you’ll have never seen, and you’ll forget all those 72 hooris and turn to her. She’ll be your earthly wide, surpassing the beauty of a million hooris, returning to your arms. And why shouldn’t she be more beautiful for didn’t she engage herself in devotions in this world, and she patiently tolerated her husband’s moods in dunya?

To continue, in paradise, a single man will be granted the strength of 100 men, he’ll adorn himself with lavish like crowns and bracelets. Women, on their part, won’t be given a currency called dollar or pound, nor a credit card with a measly R10000- limit, but an unlimited currency called “Desire.”

Whatever they desire, they’ll get…beautiful handbags, manicures, pedicures, fluffy kittens and even obedient husbands who will become just as she like him to be in appearance and character. There’ll be no hijab in paradise, and also no lust. Noone will fear extra-marital affairs or even contemplate evil.

An ordinary palace will be a huge pearly 60 meters tall establishment carved out from within, and having 70,000 rooms, and built in such a way that every room will be completely private. The silken couches will be elevated-the ultimate lazy boy-and hundreds lads will be there to serve you with thousands of glasses on their hands, each holding a different liquid, and bringing whatever you desire at mere thought. No such remote control has ever been created in the world! All traces of jealousy, malice, envy, and pride will be removed from everyone in these huge social gatherings. There will be no problems, anxiety, bac-stabbing, break-ups, divorces or any kind of relationship tension, in this “Pearl of Piece.”

The best part is there is no waking up in the morning to rush to work in order to clock in on time, to meet your monthly commitments or to stomach the nonsense of your boss. In fact, in paradise, there is neither fatigue, sleep, nor night. Paradise won’t be lit by a sun giving off nuclear rays, but by the shimmering light of the ‘Arsh (Grand Throne) itself. It will be as gentle as the rays just before dawn.

The best part of paradise is that you will be with everyone you love, past and present, have anything you want with no fear of death for anyone, nor scarcity of pleasures. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the Almighty Himself will ask you, “Do you want anything more?”

And everyone will express their gratitude and the bounties beyond expectation. Then the Almighty will grant every resident the ULTIMATE glory-a bounty that not a zillion years of prostration can buy: He will reveal Himself to everyone. This grand sight will cause everyone to fall into prostration and will only increase themselves in beauty. There is no moment better than this moment and no pleasure that can ever surpass this privilege in one’s entire existence

Paradise is a pre place, reserved only for the pure. It’s reserved for those who don’t seek loftiness or power in this world, who have iman (faith), piety, and good character. And who realize that the ticket to paradise is undergoing the temporary hardships this world, dunya. Thus advised the Best of Creation, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), “If you need to ask for anything, ask for jannat-ul Firdaws.”***

“Ya Allah!” I exclaimed! I turned to my brothers who were all wide eyed gaping in utter amazement. I said to them, “Who of us can now dare to refuse this? Are you sure you want to turn away the everlasting, never-ending bliss?”

But Haitham was crying like a baby, we never saw him this way and he started walking in the direction of the masjid.

Asad looked transfixed but I noticed tears in his eye as he spoke in a soft voice, “I ask Allah to forgive me, shower His mercy on me and guide me.”

I added, “Amiin.”

I looked at Muhammad who seemed to have no interest as he just held a blank expression on his face. Then, I faced him and muttered, “Sorry but I can no longer continue with this friendship. I can’t go back…” my words trailed off as he furiously interrupted me.

“I’m not crazy and I’m going.” He spun around in the direction of the masjid obviously with the intention of making tawba.

“Come on,” I beckoned Asad and he smiled hugely, “Let’s race to jannah?!”